Instructions for Crossing the Foreign

Instructions for Crossing the Foreign was a text written by Matilde and presented during the first BOWING show at an intersection of three streets in São Teotónio, which we called Hospitality Square. With a chalk mandala drawn on the floor, two dancers moved in the space while the text was spoken. The audience formed a circle around them. Inspired by the words of poets Juan Vicente Piqueras and Kae Tempest and also echoing the thoughts of philosophers Richard Kearney and Jacques Derrida, Instructions for Crossing the Foreign is about hospitality, gravity and incomprehension - three words that guided this show. "…the gods are searching for their place, the gods want to be vaccinated, the gods have never seen the sea, the gods find allies, the gods have health numbers, the gods fill out forms, the gods have backaches and work for wages… … the monsters talk on WhatsApp, the monsters are learning English, the monsters go to the supermarket and wait for their turn, the monsters study mathematics, the monsters walk by the side of the road, the monsters occupy these streets, the monsters decide nothing…"